Sunday, February 04, 2007

The Big Decision

Well, I have been thinking about this for a long time, and now, I've finally made my decision.

At first, I was thinking that I would probably get a Quicksilver MX, but after a while, I started to see other aircraft that met my interest. The CGS Hawk, the Challenger, Phantom, Flightstar, and much more. Perhaps I should invest in something else other than a Quicksilver.

Many, many months ago, I looked for ultralight yahoo groups to join. There weren't many, and at the time, there was only one that was active. The Skypup group. My first impression of the Skypup was not a good one. It looked bulky, big, and too much of a haste. Then after a while, it became the inverse. People were talking about the simple construction, low costs, easy fun flying characteristics, and great portability. To top that off, the group was nice, helpful, and had each others back.

As good as the Skypup sounded, I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting myself into trouble. I had many other options. The Quicksliver MX, the Kolb Firefly or Firestar, Mitchell Wing, a trike, Phantom, etc. I was hoping that the trike flight would help me narrow down these options to just fixed wing, or trike, but in the end, it did nothing (just an amazing ride).

As I mentioned last post, I enjoy flying in general. Trike flying is great, but fixed wing is also awesome. With that in mind, I decided that why not build a Skypup. Haven't heard a complaint about the Pup (except for vibration) yet. I've finally found my bird, my love, and my new girlfriend.

Now I can soar like a bird (the glide ratio is an impressive 12:1), dance with the wind, and fly like a pilot. Cacn you tell that I'm in love?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to see you're looking at more traditional planes. It has a face that only a mother could love, but it seems to have good following.

I also looked at the Kolb Aircraft. One big plus for the Kolb is the folding wings. If you lost your hanger, you could always take it home!

Jack - Airbike Guy

Unknown said...

Yeah...I like the Kolb aircraft too. They fly very nicely. The Skypup has detachable wings, which is nice, but not as good as foldable wings. The Skypup was designed so that it would fit into the back of a standard size truck, so probably my first vehicle will be a truck.

I like the Airbike too. Eventually I might end up building one.

Thanks for the comment Jack,
Mark Zinkel

Anonymous said...

If I recall correctly you are in the San Diego area are you not?
If you are, then that makes you the closest builder to me because I live 80 miles south of Fresno in the central valley.
Anyway, you are right on about the Skypup and the folks building them. I have had nothing but help and encouragement from these guys.
I am in process of turning my spars into wings and so far so good.
Hope all goes well for you.

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your wing progress. The plans say that once you're done with the wing, you are 50% complete with your Skypup.

Actually, I live in Sacramento. According to the Frappr map, Ralph Hopkin or Chris Clardy lives the closest to you (assuming that you're not one of them). Anyways, if you're ever in the Sacramento area, let me know and we can meet up.

When I finish my Skypup, perhaps I could fly South and you can fly North and we'll meet in the middle (although the Skypup really isn't the best cross country airplane).

I'm jealous towards you because you are actually working on your bird. I was working on mine, until I realized that I need to get ultralight specific training before Jan. 31, 2008. Being a teenager makes my ultralight intentions hard because I don't have a car to transport my Pup, I live in a house with little remaining storage space, and I don't have enough money coming in to keep up with all the associated costs. As soon as I finish training, and have enough money built up (training will financially wipe me out), I'll start building until I don't have enough space to hold the project. You will definitely be flying before I do, so congratulations all the way!

You also live in an excellent place to fly ultralights! Do you have a field by your house to fly out of, or will your Pup fly out of an airport?


Best of luck,
Mark Zinkel

Edward Smith said...

I loved reading your blog but it was a little hard to see because of the color scheme that you chose. Being a pilot and knowing how to fly a plane will benefit you for the rest of your life. It's like learning to ride a bike. Once you learn you never forget.